Phantasmagoria 2 is a horror FMV game and stand-alone sequel to Phantasmagoria. This game feels like an episode of The X-Files, being set in a 90s office building with a big cast of unique characters. Once again, this game covered controversial topics of its time such as bondage and homosexuality. You play as Curtis Craig, a man in his 20s who works in the office for a pharmaceutical company. You follow his every day life, from waking up in the morning to going to bed in the evening, and get to meet his co-workers and bosses. One day a co-worker is found murdered and all eyes are suddenly on Curtis. This game is, compared to its predecessor, a full FMV game. This also means that the game has aged much better, as all the environments are not rendered in 3D. The soundtrack is well-made, fitting the contemporary science fiction/fringe theme that is going on in this game. All the characters feels like tropes from a 90s drama series, and that's nothing negative - they are all unique, with their own personalities and drawbacks. The acting is most of the time really good and it feels like with some tweaking, this could have been a TV episode or a movie. Overall I really enjoyed this game a lot and I don't understand why people seem to dislike it over the first Phantasmagoria, seeing that this is clearly the better title. Definitely recommending it for all FMV fans out there!
Phantasmagoria is a horror point and click adventure with FMV-elements. Considered a controversial piece of media back in its hey days, it still holds up today for its uniqueness in theme. You play as Adrienne who, together with her husband Don, has moved into what more or less looks like a haunted mansion. At least that's what the townspeople keeps telling her. Not long after moving in, Adrienne finds a hidden room and releases something unknown... around the same time Don is getting more agitated and closed off, often spending time in his newly renovated dark room. This game is very interesting as it is the first more mature/adult-oriented games from Roberta Williams, previously known for games such as King's Quest and Mother Goose. I won't get too much into the history of te game, but it was to say the least controversial due to the gorey cutscenes and certain events that occurs in-game. What has aged the most with the age is unfortunately the 3D-graphics. The FMV cutscenes holds up - although the acting is perhaps a bit cheesy at times. The puzzles are pretty straight forward and the game is forgiving at times with checkpoints if you were to die (in comparison to previous Sierra titles). It is clearly that the game was made to tell a story, something quite unique at the time of release - at least in the western part of game industry. Overall, I would recommend FMV- and point n click fans to play this game, a cult classic that has definitely helped shaping the FMV genre into what it is today!
Inspired by the classics of Sierra and LucasArts, it is very noticable these three titles are made in the era when anyone could make their own little shareware point n click adventure. While they aren't very hard, they are still quite unfair (much like Sierra titles of this game) if you screw up - although not really an issue since we're not talking about hours long games. Since I have no nostalgia related to these games, they're just not that good. If you want to play point n click games from this era, you have much better titles out there.
Voodoo Kid is a kid-edgy pirate-themed point n click game, made to seem spooky but in reality really isn't. The story is pretty simple; you somehow end up on a ghost ship and you need to defeat the evil Baron to free the imprisoned souls. You get help by the Baron's butler who shows up at various occasions as you move around the ship. The gameplay is very standard for a point n click adventure, with a few mini games here and there. The graphics are very late 90s with FMV-usage and grainy Myst-like rendering. The soundtrack is nothing to call home about, but it does its job without being annoying or repetitive. Overall, perhaps not a recommendation but if you want to spend an hour or two with a pretty simple point n click - this would probably be it. There's a different character (a girl) that you can play as well, but I only played the boy. As far as I know there are only dialogue differences, otherwise the game should be the same.
Among the Sleep is a Norwegian-developed first-person horror walking sim, where you play as a toddler. Oh also, this is probably the only game in existance to feature the Swedish nurse rhyme "Trollmors vaggsång" which is pretty funny as it's something I recognize from my own childhood. You wake up in the middle of the night, looking for your mother together with your new best friend - the Teddy Bear. While he has no name, he is actually voiced! The voice-acting is pretty decent, however as someone from Scandinavia it would have actually been fun to play it with Norwegian voice acting (I only noticed this existed due to the credits). You realize quickly that your house is not really the same during night... During the game itself you are also told a secondary story, a story about your parents and the biggest anxiety of the child you are playing. The big monster so to speak. So gameplay-wise you have 4 levels + the prologue. They're not very long, but different puzzles and segments makes some levels more tedious than others. The main downside of this game is the monster. I know right? Well, much like other games of the genre and era this game is the worst when the monster makes an appearance. Perhaps it's just me liking the athmosphere of "maybe a monster being there" rather than it actually existing, or more the type of horror game where you can actually beat the monsters. Eitherway the puzzles are mostly 3D platforming or collecting items, nothing complicated but it's not really simple either. This isn't a very long game, you can definitely finish it quicker than I did who chased down all of the collectible drawings (and re-did some segments due to the previously mentioned monster). But I'd say it's recommended for people who are fan of this genre and type of games!
The White Door is an interesting title from Rusty Lake, with a bit of a different structure than previous titles. You play the day to day life of Rober Hill, finding out that something feels... off? The story ties together with previous games, per usual, and gives some insight to what connection Robert has to those. The gameplay is similiar to previous games as well - puzzles, hints found in various places and progression through various areas. The only new gimmick is the Day to Day progression, which does make the game more interesting. I liked this game, some parts felt like it was inspired especially by Twin Peaks season 3 (won't say more than that). I definitely recommend it for fans of the Rusty Lake games!
Samsara Room is weird, and rightfully so since it stems from a flash game that predates both the Cube Escape and Rusty Lake series. This remake makes more in line with the series, and from what I understand ties it more to the current "lore". It's free but it's also probably more for hardcore fans than anyone else.
Coffee Talk is an interactive visual novel where you spend the game listening and talking to various characters in your coffee shop while you make and serve coffee. The story is the most interesting part of this, playing as the owner and barista of a coffee shop in Seattle you get to follow a slice of life from that perspective as you meet various people visiting your shop. It is well-written, interesting and you get really attached to the cast as you play through the game - wanting to find out what happens to them, hoping they'll make the right choice in the end and such. The gameplay is mainly focused on the drink making part, there's no dialogue options for example. You take the orders from each character, making them drinks based on coffee, tea, chocolate, etc. adding ingredience as requested. And here's where the hard part is, you need to figure out the ingredients for each drink! There's also two "endless" mode - one freemode where you can play around making drinks and one challenge mode where you are timed making orders. Coffee Talk is definitely a game that I recommend to anyone! Mainly being a visual novel means that it isn't too hard to get into, and it's just relaxing listening to the customers as you make their drink of choice for them. I'm so excited to play the sequel when I get the chance!
Tales of the Neon Sea is a futuristic pixel-style point n click adventure where you play as private detective Rex, half human and half... I guess robot? The game has various puzzles, mini games and such in it to add some variety to the gameplay. The story is interesting, you investigate a murder that eventually ties to unsolved murders 15 years earlier with a serial killer that never got caught. The way the story unfolds is done in a good way and the game is separated into four distinct chapters. The characters are well-written, albeit perhaps a bit cliché at times. The localization is done well and the soundtrack is really good. The gameplay is your standard point n click; interact with the world, combine items to solve puzzles, etc. but it also contains some mini-games, time-sensitive events and platforming which works out well. There are also segments were you play as a different character. You control the characters directly, I recommend using a gamepad rather than KB+M but it's a personal choice in what you would prefer. Overall, I definitely recommend this game and since the game does end on a note that opens up for a second game I am hoping that the developers will return to make more games in this universe starring Rex. With that said, it does seem like they have a completly different game coming up so it might be a while before we will see that - if at all.
Murder by Numbers is a fun and enjoyable game in the style of Ace Attorney and other similiar VNs. It's cliché, it has various humerous characters and the soundtrack, while a bit repetitive, is nice to listen to. It's very much a western love letter to both Japanese VNs and the picross genre. You play as a former actress turned private investigator, solving murders together with a robot that you find. There are four cases where each have its own storyline and characters, but it also has overarching plot where you get to know both the main character, her companion and the recurring supporting cast (such as her mother, a police detective, a stylist, etc.). It all ties together neatly in the fourth and last case. Well almost. The gameplay is interesting as the developers mixes your typical VN together with picross which adds more to the game. With that said, I do think that some of the timed puzzles are very hardcore and at times it felt like pure luck was the reason why I managed to finished them (mainly during case 3 and 4). I definitely recommend this game! It's fun and the picross puzzles aren't too hardcore, but instead enjoyable to solve. I want more of this, and apparently so did the developers as there is a slight hint for a continuation towards the end of the game. However after this game release the studio, Mediatonic, released the popular game Fall Guys and subsequently got bought by Epic Games. I unfortunately do not see the studio working on any other games for a foreseeable future.
